ISLAMABAD: Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing said on Tuesday that China and Pakistan both are on the same path as they share decades’ long cordial and historical bilateral relations. “China will never compromise friendship with Pakistan and wants to maintain and safeguard friendship with Pakistan,” he said while addressing a ceremony as chief guest on the eve of Chinese National Day celebrations held at National University of Modern Languages (NUML). NUML Rector Major General (r) Ziauddin Najam, NUML Director General Muhammad Ibrahim, Chinese cultural counselor, faculty of Confucius Institute and students from various universities were also present on the occasion. The ambassador said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is for peace, regional development and connectivity. He applauded Pakistan’s new government and said that CPEC project would be more enriched in this government as joint ventures will be made in mega projects and China will assist Pakistan to increase foreign direct investment to come out of prevailing issues. He further said that China will also work in the human resource sector, social-economic as well as poverty alleviation. He said that Sino-Pak cooperation in education is excellent. “Language is like a vehicle to understand each other and helps in bridging the gap and assists in developing mutual understanding,” he said. Earlier, Major General (r) Ziauddin Najam in his welcome address said that today, our Chinese brothers and sisters are celebrating their National Day but by implication it is our national day. He said that China and Pakistan have almost the same history as both the countries faced difficult times and China is a role model for us as China overcame all its issues and rose as a big nation. “China has a rich culture and civilisation and on this very auspicious occasion, all the Pakistani nation felicitates its Chinese brothers and sisters for a very happy national day,” he said. Faculty members from Chinese Department of NUML and Confucius Institute performed various Chinese traditional programmes. Published in Daily Times, September 3rd 2018.